


Resurfaced Fears

by tattoosanta



Series: Poly Ship UA [4]
Category: Free!
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Fear/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-22
Updated: 2014-10-22
Packaged: 2018-02-22 03:51:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2493380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tattoosanta/pseuds/tattoosanta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto thought he had finally gotten over his fear of the ocean, and then that little girl started floating away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Resurfaced Fears

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I'm trash.  
> I write sad-ish things.   
> I'll escort myself to the dumpster. 
> 
> [Disclaimer: I know the poll said "Next" PolyShip fic, but... I already had this idea and that meant in the mini-series within the series. Yeah.]

The sun was beating down on the bustling beach, and Makoto was glad he had brought the golfing umbrella his father had insisted he take with him to his house with Rin and Sousuke. The top had an embarrassing amount of glitter on it from when Ran had decorated it in her fifth grade year, and it earned quite a few stares. Makoto and Sousuke never really payed attention to it, but at first Rin thought it was incredibly embarrassing. Of course, after a few months, he stopped caring as well.

Makoto laughed a little at the memory of Rin opening the giant umbrella and giving him the most incredulous look he has ever gotten. He smiled to himself and turned the page of the book he was reading, looking up to find his husbands somewhere on the shore. They were currently just sitting in the most shallow part of the water chatting with each other, so he figured they’d be alright. His eyes scanned the rest of the beach, watching as frustrated parents tried to wrangle their kids to put sunscreen on them and as people splashed and played in the gently lapping waves of the vast, blue, ocean. His eyes fixed on a small girl; unattended, that was standing about hip deep in the water playing with a kickboard. Her pigtails bobbed gently as the waves carried her up, and then down again. She was giggling, letting the waves push and pull her, up and down, forward and backward. 

He didn’t particularly notice the return of his husbands from the edge of the water, eyes trained on the small girl, drifting gently in the lapping waves. He noticed, as she lightly kicked her small feet, that she was getting pulled farther and farther out with the riptide, and a familiar feeling of panic rose in his throat. His thoughts stopped as he watched the small girl with no guardian slowly drift out into the open ocean, as if something was underneath the water, pulling her out. Something in the very recesses of his mind told him not to panic, and that someone would notice and pull her back into safety, but by then it was too late. His heart was racing and his hands began to tremble, a cold sweat forming on the nape of his neck. His thoughts raced at a thousand miles an hour and it felt like his throat would snap shut at any moment. 

Luckily, during the time Makoto had gotten lost in his fear, Rin had also noticed the little girl being pulled out to sea and rushed in to pull her back in with little effort. She thanked him and he returned to the towel, where he knelt to the side of Makoto beside Sousuke. “Hey, Makoto! Can you hear me?”

Rin’s voice snapped Makoto out of his circular thoughts and he jumped, facing the other man. His entire body was trembling with fear and he could barely form the words that spilled out of his mouth like a waterfall. “W-What is it?”

“Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Sousuke spoke up, his face set in worry. “You’re not sick, are you?”

“N-No, I’m fine…!” Makoto quickly shook his head, realizing the situation. He forced himself to stop shaking and to calm his ragged, pained breathing. “I’m not sick or anything.” 

Rin frowned. “If you say so… But you still look pretty freaked out.” He paused for a moment, looking the brunette in the eyes. His frown deepened as he thought of the only possible explanation for the sudden change in attitude. “Something happened.” He stated simply. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Makoto lied, feigning ignorance. “I’m fine, really.” 

“No, you’re not.” Rin snapped. 

“Rin, now’s not the time for sharp words.” Sousuke chastised, sending the redhead a warning look. 

“...Right, sorry.” Rin mumbled, rubbing his neck. He looked back at Makoto and his face softened in understanding. “Something happened and you panicked, right?”

Makoto stayed silent, fixing his eyes on his hands like they were suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. He felt like something was about to snap within him. He had to say something, anything, but he didn’t want them to know. 

“Makoto…” Sousuke urged, putting his hand gently on Makoto’s, causing an involuntary jump from the brunette. “Please, tell us what’s wrong.” 

“...I’m scared.” Makoto finally mumbled, his book having been discarded when Sousuke put his hand on his own. He hated sounding pathetic like that, it wasn’t even something that should have scared him. But he was absolutely terrified. The trembling came back, and with it, all the panicked thoughts from before and tears threatened to spill out of the corners of his eyes. 

“It was that girl, wasn’t it?” Rin asked quietly, trying not to provoke any further fear. “That’s what you were so fixated on, right?”

“...Yeah.” Makoto nodded, his voice barely above a whisper. He came to the realization that Sousuke’s hand was still on his own and he grabbed it like a lifeline in an attempt to make the shaking go away. 

Rin was at a loss for what to say. He looked to Sousuke, who shook his head, and sighed. “Do you want us to do anything for you?” He asked tentatively after a moment of thought and inner debate. 

Makoto fell silent again, focusing on Sousuke’s hand. He stayed like that for a while, still trembling like a leaf in a storm. “Just stay here…Don’t leave me alone.” He finally said, barely above a whisper, hating how demanding he sounded. “Please.”

“Okay,” Rin nodded, moving closer to Makoto and wrapping his arms around his shoulders. “We’re not going anywhere, I promise.” 

Makoto felt the heavy feeling in his heart go away and he looked up to meet Sousuke’s gentle gaze. He gently squeezed his hand and rested his head on Rin’s shoulder, closing his eyes. “Thank you.”


End file.
